Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya has attributed the team’s defeat in the IPL’s “El Clasico” against Chennai Super Kings to the impact of Matheesha Pathirana. The high-scoring encounter at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday saw CSK emerge victorious by 20 runs.
After a blistering start by Mumbai’s opening duo of Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan, Pathirana’s introduction in the eighth over proved pivotal. He dismissed Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav in quick succession, breaking the 70-run partnership.
“Definitely it was gettable. But I think they bowled pretty well, Pathirana was the difference. He came and got the wickets, at the same time they were also quite smart with their approach. They used the longer boundary well,” Pandya said after the match.
Pathirana’s wickets set Mumbai back, forcing them to chase the game. CSK’s bowlers, including Shardul Thakur and Mustafizur Rahman, exploited the conditions with variations. Thakur, despite conceding 33 runs in his first three overs, came back strongly to concede just two runs in his final over.
Tushar Deshpande’s dismissal of Pandya further tightened the equation for Mumbai. “They were smart with the plans and their approach. They got the hang of it, there’s a man behind the stumps (Dhoni) who tells them what’s working, that helps. It (pitch) was holding up a bit and getting difficult,” Pandya added.
Earlier, CSK had posted a formidable 206/4, thanks to Shivam Dube’s unbeaten 66 and Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 69. MS Dhoni’s late cameo provided the finishing touches.
In reply, Rohit Sharma’s unbeaten 105 was not enough to guide Mumbai to victory. The defeat leaves Mumbai with a 1-2 record in the IPL, while CSK improves to 2-1.
